Mankind desires freedom. It has been that way from the beginning. Adam and Eve wanted the freedom to choose the fruit and Cain wanted the freedom to choose what he offered to God. Let’s look at these two situations for a minute. Understand that mankind was created to have fellowship with his Creator and because of this, certain parameters would be set in place to ensure this fellowship. God told Adam and Eve that they were free to eat from any tree in the Garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That word, “except” set the parameters that would maintain the communion that Adam and Eve would share with God. Before we go any further in our discussion about freedom, let us be reminded that Adam and Eve were free to not eat from the Tree.

In fact, since the fall, mankind hasn’t known true freedom. Both Adam and Eve were influenced from without and subjected themselves to a whole new set of parameters, parameters that would close in on them continually, until they were not free at all. It happens everyday and in the lives of everyone who has ever lived. For instance, when I was a youth I had this freedom (so I thought) to choose a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. But, I never dreamed that all the time I was “freely” choosing this lifestyle, the lifestyle was corralling me into enslavement where my freedom was nothing more than an ideology at best.

My heart was deceiving me into thinking that I was still free, but my actions were proving otherwise. I was constantly thinking about drugs and alcohol, spending my money on drugs and alcohol and using drugs and alcohol. Can you see how my life was being fenced in? People do this with drugs, alcohol, sex, power and fame. Some folks are so trapped by money, which by the way, offers so much freedom in the beginning, but soon becomes a situation in which they can never spend a dime without some feeling of dismay.

When a man or women comes to Christ, the Spirit of God begins to lead them into a life of total freedom –whom the Son sets free is free indeed. God sets the parameters; See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trust in him will never be put to shame. 1Pe.2:6 The one who trusts in Jesus Christ has in effect, said, “Lord. I am giving you my life today and forever. I choose to surrender this life to you as an offering. The Son of God has set this man or woman free, from the oppression of the devil. He or she has been set free from the fear of death.

The act of choosing Christ is a step toward true freedom. Think about it; it was Jesus Christ who actually showed us what true freedom was, even while He lived here on earth. He was free to not do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him. Also, like Cain, we have the freedom to offer back to God this life that He has given us.

Do you have the freedom to offer God the best of your life? Do you offer God the “firstfruits” of your life, or is it the hand-me-downs and second-rate stuff that you can do without anyway? Does God get the best of your mind, or is it when you are tired and weary –after the two or three hours we give to the world through our television experience. Did you know that when we sit in front of that thing, we are in actuality offering up ourselves to receive what the “gods” of Hollywood have to offer? Our lives are being leavened with the yeast of the world very sublimely. I remember being a news freak a few years back. I couldn’t get enough of it; local news, world news and back to the local news. I even justified it by “paralleling it” with end-time prophecy. Well, my prayer time suffered for it. My spirit was prepared to meet with God. And because my prayer time suffered, my life itself suffered. All this was because I thought I had the freedom to live the way I thought was best, even while a Christian! The life I offered God was what was left over after I, and the world, was done with it. This should not be. Today I choose to be truly free. Today I choose to offer up to God the best of my life!

Have a God blessed week. Pastor Jim

One of the greatest hindrances to reading and studying the Bible is the lack of understanding what we have just read. It leaves one feeling defeated and depressed, assuming that nothing was gained by the effort. I think this is one reason for the many different versions of Bibles that are on the market today. There are also many books that promise to make that Book easier to understand – some of them big sellers. So, instead of trying to tackle the job, some Christians just trust to get the “scoop” from the preacher, or someone else that they believe has read the Bible with some accomplishment.

The problem with that is, no matter how you look at it, they’re getting “second hand” news. One of the most rewarding things for the Christian is that time of Bible reading (and studying) where he or she rises up from the study with some new revelation. It can be very exasperating when we hear St. Paul say, “For we did not write you anything you cannot read or understand.” And then we see St. Peter say, “Our dear Brother Paul also wrote with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” Well, which one is it? Is the Bible hard to understand or not?

The key to understanding the Bible is, first of all, don’t try to understand it –believe it! It’s not hard to understand that God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever would believe on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It’s not hard to understand, “Thou shalt not…” And it’s not hard to understand, “Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst for righteousness.” St. Anselm wrote, “I do not seek to understand, in order that I may believe, but I believe, in order that I may understand. I believe even this; that unless I believe, I shall not understand anything.” We must remember, the Bible says, “Repent and believe the good news.”

We must also remember that the Bible teaches us a way of life that runs contrary to the way the world has taught us and the way most of us had lived. I’ll never forget the time I was trying to sharpen some new pencils on our manual Boston pencil sharpener. It seemed that the sharpener wasn’t cutting right, but only on one side. In my frustration, “I hollered that this stupid sharpener is broken.”

My son, who was fifteen at the time, said, “Dad, you’re not doing it right.” You’re holding the pencil too tight, you need to allow it to turn a little bit as you sharpen it.” I had lived twenty years more than that kid! I was sharpening pencils long before he was born. I never did what he was telling me before! But I stopped with all my excuses. I had to question if my pride was getting in the way. I had to believe my son. I had to trust that he knew what he was talking about. So, I tried sharpening the pencil just as he instructed and guess what…

He knew what he was talking about and now I understand how to sharpen pencils. You may think of that as a silly little illustration –but the illustration fits. Maybe people have a hard time understanding because they have too many excuses, or maybe their pride is getting in the way. Or, maybe it’s as simple as not believing and lacking the trust that God really knows how to direct their lives. You know, when men and women stand before God, He isn’t going to ask, “Why didn’t you understand?” but rather, “Why didn’t you believe?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
and knowledge of the Holy is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10

Have a God blessed week. Pastor Jim

I recently saw a news segment about James “Buster” Douglas, who rose to fame in the boxing world by defeating the Heavy Weight Champion of the world, Mike Tyson, twenty years ago this month. What caught my interest was what Buster said during the interview when asked about how quickly he lost the title belt as fast as he won it. He said, “I was ready to be the World Heavy Weight Champion. I was ready for the fight for it. I worked hard and I trained long and just as hard and I beat Mike Tyson for the title. But I wasn’t ready for what that kind of stardom and fame the title brought.” When Buster fought Evander Holyfield eight months later, he was fifteen pounds over weight and out of shape. He was knocked out in the third round. He retired from boxing soon after.

I thought about how what happen to Buster seems to happen so many times to people who “go to God” or “try Jesus” because their lives are in need of something. Often times, people “give their hearts” to Jesus because there is a dire situation that forces them to look for help beyond themselves. They have felt that they have tried everything, now it’s time to “try God”. Much to their surprise, God means a little more business than they do, or more than they intended anyway. They find themselves in a life now where they don’t get to call the shots. They’re not the boss and God lets them know in no uncertain terms. What really happens is that their idea about “trying God” is hoping that God will square up their lives and bless them here and there, but they themselves will still hold on to those life practices that got them in their dire situations in the first place.

Sometimes these folks have considered long and hard about making that decision for Christ. I have heard testimony after testimony of the white-knuckle, tear wrenching, breath-taking gulp of… “Yes, I accept Jesus Christ!” Then, they walk away and wait; and they wait; they wait for God to do something. If God doesn’t “do something” in the time period that they have allotted Him, they walk further away. Or maybe they try the Christian life for a while and do the religious scene. For all practical purposes, the Sunday Church scene will hold back a few demons, but it will never prepare you for the Love of God that overwhelms you through Jesus Christ.

Some folks have a hard time being loved by God. Why? Because His love brings on demands of a sort. It’s like this; when a person is saved from drowning by another person, the person feels indebted to the one who saved them. Well, God saves from eternal death, so obviously the debt incurred is assumed much bigger (Romans 8:12). When the obligation looms large on one’s conscious, there is a tendency to give up. It was G.K. Chesterton, who said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” In another place he said, “When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him; but in heaven’s name to what?”

Where will you ever find another love like His; a love that loves indiscriminately and without fail. A love that warns of the dangers of this world; with its deceptive allurements and the brevity of life. A love that speaks to the conscious mind that decisions should be weighed in the light of eternity and in paths chosen where One has gone before. A love that demands fidelity; even in the moments of solitude and under the cover of darkness. Where can anyone find another love like that of God’s? The answer is a straight-up, “Nowhere!”

Have a God blessed week. Pastor Jim